NE: Northeast v. SomebodyWhoExists

[cinyc]

Okay.  We will then proceed to closing statements.  Defense counsel Oakvale will go first, followed by the prosecution.

Please proceed.

[Oakvale]

Your Honor, members of the jury, Governor Pikachu,

In Atlasia we have a fundamental check on reality. It's the position of Game Moderator. His word is law, and unless the Game Moderator says something has happened it has not. This is crucial. Otherwise events would consist of people effectively posting "bang, bang you're dead!".

My client, Mr. SWE, stands accused of treason, one of the most heinous crimes an Atlasia citizen can commit. As a Supreme Court Justice I've had the unenviable task of being privy to and presiding over several high-profile treason cases, perhaps most infamously that of the late Snowstalker, who was convicted of high treason for his actions in the disturbances following the collapse of the DemPGH government.

 And it's because I have experience in dealing with these matters that I was outraged at the charges against SWE and recused myself from the Supreme Court to help him clear his name.

There is a stark and utterly fundamental difference between cases like Snowstalker's and SWE's. Both men made posts claiming that militia under their command were attempting to overthrow the democratically elected governments.

The crucial difference is that Snowstalker's militia existed - SWE's did not exist. How do we know this? Because the GM tell us so - prior to the appointment of a new GM, recognition of Snowstalker's militia was performed by the acting GM, then-SoIA Cranberry. No such recognition ever happened from the GM for my client's supposed group.

My client, SWE, made his supposedly "treasonous" statement on July 19th. The Game Moderator, Mr. DKrol made not a single mention of his "forces" or indeed any group whatsoever affiliated with, or even the name of, my client.

Let me be clear. There was no mention whatsoever made of my client's fictitious militias in the GM's office at any point before or after this time. None. They thus did not exist, and my client's ramblings were equivalent to that of a barstool revolutionary exercising his right to free speech, not a threat to national security.

Do we assume that because he was a member of a farcical communist group that he is thus guilty and must be punished for excercising his freedom of speech and right to free association under the Constitution? Surely not.

Under the logic of the prosecution, ladies and gentlemen, this -

*leans out window*


"MY FORCES ARE MARCHING ON NYMAN TO DEPOSE THE PRESIDENT AS WE SPEAK!"

- is an act of treason, and I should now be arrested and convicted.

That is clearly absurd.

Members of the jury, you carry a heavy burden, but your responsibility is crystal clear - you cannot convict SWE of this crime. Perhaps what he said was reckless, moronic, ill-judged. But that is quite different from active treason.

Convicting SWE, whatever you think of his politics, will render the position of GM utterly irrelevant, meaning that reality is shaped not by that esteemed office but by the random proclaimiations of ordinary citizens. It will be a dark day for justice in the Northeast, and a darker day for Atlasia. It will be injustice in its truest form.

If you accept the legal fact that reality is decided by its constitutional arbiter, the Game Moderator, then you must vote to acquit SWE. There is no other option.

Thank you.

[cinyc]

Prosecutor Pikachu - your closing statement please.

[pikachu]

Members of the jury, CJO cinyc, Justice oakvale,

We are charging SWE under the counts of rebellion and terrorism. SWE, as head of the DPRN, which would later to go to become part of TNF's ersatz Soviet state, was quite clearly taking part in rebellion and terrorism. There is no question of his intent, which he clearly spelled himself, to overthrow the government of the Northeast, and with TNF, overthrow the government of Atlasia. Along with this, on the question of existence, TNF's group was recognized to have still existed after SWE chose to join it, and as head of the Northeast division, I struggle to see who else could've been the leader of the forces TNF claimed were marching into the Northeast. (It should also be noted that SWE stayed on as a member of this group well after it was clear that it was a terrorist organization.) SWE quite clearly is guilty of the crimes that he is accused of, and I hope that the jury will choose to convict him.

Thank You. 

[cinyc]

Thank you for your closing statements.  It is now time for the jury to deliberate and come to a verdict. 

As far as I know, there is no specific Northeast law regarding overthrowing the government.  The federal Re-Consolidated Criminal Justice Act states:

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The prosecution has the burden of proving that a crime has occurred beyond a reasonable doubt.

Please review the evidence and state your verdict below.  I will PM the jurors to ensure that they see it is verdict time.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Not guilty.

[Clyde1998]

Not guilty.

[homelycooking]

Not guilty

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Not guilty

[Suburbia]

Not guilty.

[cinyc]

I'd like to thank the jury for their service and their prompt verdict.

The defendant has unanimously been found not guilty.  SomebodyWhoExists, you are to be immediately released from custody and are free to go.